Dbpibrating machine



July 10,1928. 1,677,076

' J. DUFOUR DEFIBRATING MACHINE Filed Dec. 16, 1924 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Wm da s Julfl 0, 1928.

J. DUFOUR DEFIBRATING MACHINE Fi led Dec. 16. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 10, 1928.

I UNITED STATES JOSEPH DUFOUR, OF GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA.

DEFIBRATING MACHINE.

Application filed December 16, 1924. Serial No. 756,318.

The invention relates to detibrating machines, and to one suitable for obtaining, in

a thorough, effective, rapid and economical manner, fibers from plants such as agave Mexicana, lechuguilla, pita fioja, pinuela,

pineapple, banana tree stems, escobilla, bamboo and the like. Also for recovering vegetable juices or stums suitable for industrial purposes, for example the juices from the banana tree, and juices which can, after certain treatment, be converted into sugar or alcohol.

Vast quantities of such vegetable productions being available in Central America, Mexico, the Argentine and elsewhere, it is of great industrial importance to provide the mostimproved appliances for the conversion of them into textile and said juices and into byproducts which also may be useful. I

My machine has in view the extraction of long fiber from the vegetable material, which is done by what is analogous to a combing operation, although it is performed by blades adjusted to form a very narrow space through which the fibers are drawn as they are separated from the cortex, pith and less fibrous parts; and also has in view the complete expression and collection of said juices preliminary to the fiber-collecting operation. lVith such objects in View, as well as other advantages which may be incident to the use of the improvements, the invention consists in the parts and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth and claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements constituting the same may be varied in proportions and arrangement without dcparting from the nature and scope of the invention.

In order to make the invention more clearly understood there are shown in the accon panying drawings means for carrying the same into. practical effect, without limiting the improvements, in their useful applica tions, to the particular constructions which, for the purpose of explanation, have been made the subject of illustration.

In said drawings- Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view of a defibrating and juice collecting machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail View illustrating the mounting and securing of the combing blades.

Referring to the drawings, A is the strong metal frame of the machine having two suitable side parts in which the operative elements are mounted. 1 and 2 are the upper and lower rolls by and between which the material to be treated is drawn and fed into the machine over a table a. One of these rolls, preferably the upper, has the ends of its axle mounted in movable bearings 72 held down with suitable yielding pressure by springs 0 arranged under bearing caps d, the latter being adjustable by screws 6 and. nuts f. From these initial rolls the material is fed to smaller rolls 3 and 4: which give a stronger and more acute pressure to the ma- 7 terial. the upper roll. 3 being provided with movable bearings b and springs c, adjustable by caps d, screws 6 and nuts f.

'Ihence the material is fed to the smallest pair of upper and lower rolls 5 and 6, by which a still stronger and more acute pres sure is applied to the material, the upper roll 5 being provided with movable bearings b and springs 0 adjustable by caps d screws 6 and nuts f 7 is a support or adjustable table-part shaped to extend rearward between the rolls 5 and 6 and near to the bite of the same and by which the crushed material is rigidly held against the action of the combing blades 9. At its front side the part 7 has a concave curved face shaped to be concentric with the path of the operative edges of said blades, said face extending for a sufficient distance in the direction of the movement of the blades to effect the removal of all parts excepting the fibers which. remain elongated on said concave face 9 and progress rapidly downward thereon as the operation of the machine proceeds. The support has a fiat upper part in the nature of a horizontal table which extends rearwardly between the rolls 5 and 6, to insure the breaking of the woody parts of the niaterial. The support 7 is adjustable towards and from the path of the blade-edges, and preferably this adjustment is in all directions and angularly and by means of a plurality of set screws which hold the support with great rigidity when it has been adjusted as desired and as is most suitable for the particular kind of material and fiber which is being operated upon. In the construction shown there are four of these screws 13, 13, 13 and 13 at each end of the part 7 o nted and screwed through flanges 71 formed on the sides ofthe frame A, by the loosening and tightening of which, with a proper moving of the part 7, the latter may have its upper end or lower end or both ends adjusted toward or from the path of the blades, and may also be adjusted vertically relative to the rolls 5 and 6. For instance, the outer screws can be loosened and screwed back a little and the inner screws turnedso as to follow up against the support 7 and clamp it firmly against the outer screws. This operation leaves a little more space between the concave and the extremities of the flexible blades. \Vhen the screws are loose the part 7 may also be adjusted vertically so as to bring its topor table part at the proper level. i

The combing blades 9 are mounted and fixed on a revoluble cylinder or drum 8 having a shaft 11 which is mounted in bearings j adjustable in horizontal directions on the frame A. 'These bearings are rigidly held, when adjusted, by means of bolts passing down through slots Z in the hearings or in the frame. 'Adjustment is facilitated as to its fineness by set screws m. The blades have foot-flanges 11 secured to the drum by bolts 0. i

As the separated fibers pass down from the face 9 outside of the path of the blades they pass into the grasp of rolls 10 and 11 which feed the fibers onto a conveying belt 79 operated by a power roll 12, by which they are carried out of the machine. The non-fibrous parts of the material are discharged by the blades below the conveyor and against a shield 16 and may be removed from time to time.

' The roll 11 has its shaft mounted in movable bearings which are pressed towards of the three pairs of rolls -1 to 6 substantially all of the juice which may be in the vegetable material is expressed and runs down the lower rolls and is collected in a bronze (non-corrosive) basin 1.5 from which it is conducted out of the machine by atrough 1. And under said pressure the vegetable material is reduced to a thin layer or sheet from which all but the fiber is combed and removed by the blades 9. In order-that this may be, effected the adjustments above referred to are to be made of the required fine ness, especially of the support 7.

Dependent upon the nature of the vege table material, and its contained fiber, I may use rigid blades, semi-rigid blades, or flexible blades, in all cases the blades beingmade of steel or other suitable metal. I may thus regulate the action of the machine considerably according to the fineness to be treated and produced. As the thin layer of cleaned fibers is rapidly formed on theconcave face 9 it is with equal rapidity removed therefrom by the action of the rolls 10 and 11.

For example, I may state that the recovery ofthe fibers "of the fineness of those obtained from pita floja, pinuela, rainie and pinea pp le require the use of the flexible blade. As far as bamboo and escabillo are concerned they require to be treated with the rigid blades. L

It will be observed that the operation of the machine entirely avoids the breaking of the stalks or parts of the vegetable material, or the fibers thereof, crosswise, and the effort of the machine is always to extend the fibers longitudinallyuntil they pass out of the machine, in which manner fibers of the more valuable length are recovered, as distinguished from short fibers obtained by other machines.

My invention also involves a method of recovering fibers from vegetable material wherein the cortex, pith and the like are forced away from the fibres of the vegetable material while said fibers, are maintained elongated in a thin and curved sheet just outside of the path along which the cortex, I

pith and the like are forced away. 7 It will be understood that the fibers are very strong and resistant in the direction of their length, and Will not be very much disrupted if the other parts of the vegetable material are removed in said direction While the fibers are maintained in a thin sheet just outside of the path of said removals What I claim is:

1. In a machine for defibrating vegetable material the combination of crushingrolls, a series of rotary blades which are flexible so as to. have a dragging action and having continuous operating edgesfor acting on the crushed material, and means for holding the fibers in a thin sheet in elongated condition substantially parallel with the line of operation of the blades and just outside of the path of said blades while the non-fibrons material is removed by the blades.

2. In a defibrating machine the combina: tion of a succession of pairs of rolls for ad naming and flattening into a thin sheet-the vegetable material, rotary and transversely continuous blades for operating on the said sheet to remove the non-fibrous parts, and a support arranged between said rolls and the path of said blades for supporting the fibers horizontal at the level of the plane of feed-f ing the material and the lower part of the support being-concave.

3. In a defibrating machine the combination of crushing rolls, rotating flexible and continuous blades for operating on the crushed material, and an adjustable support lll for said material arranged to receive it from the rolls and having an elongated concave face along which said blades operate, means for adjustinglhe upper part of said support toward and from the path of said blades, independent means for adjusting the lower part of said support, and means for removing the fibers from said support.

4. In a defibrating machine the combina tion of crushing rolls, rotating flexible and continuous blades for operating on the crushed material, and an adjustable support for said material provided With a plurality of set screws and arranged to receive it from the rolls and having an elongated concave face along which said blades operate, said screws being independently adjustable at the upper part and at the lower part of said concave, and means for removing the fibers from said support.

- In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH DUFOUR. 

